Sevens fans’ favourites Kenya will show off its growing ambition in the XV-a-side game after being confirmed as the inaugural opponents in next month’s Champions Match, to face the best of South African domestic rugby.
The East African nation, ever-popular at the HSBC Cape Town Sevens, will meet the Carling Champion Team, consisting of players selected by fans from any of the seven Carling Currie Cup Premier Division teams.
The match is a bold initiative between Carling Black Label, sponsor of the Currie Cup, and SA Rugby who have joined forces to recognise and reward the champion voices of rugby fans, who will play selector for the match.
And now, African ‘neighbour’ Kenya has accepted the invitation for the showdown at Loftus Versfeld on November 6.
“The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) is greatly honoured by the invitation by SARU to participate in the Carling Champions Cup in Pretoria,” said Oduor Gangla, chairperson of the Kenya Rugby Union.
“This will be an excellent opportunity for the Simbas to play against top-notch professional opponents even as we prepare for the international test matches coming up. The experience of such matches is truly priceless as we prepare for the rugby world cup qualifiers next year.
“We are very grateful to Carling and SARU for granting us this unique invitation and look forward to an exciting start to our international window matches.”
Meanwhile, Arné Rust, Carling Black Label brand director, said, “The excitement for Black Label is being able to put the power to choose the ultimate champion team in the hands of our champion fans. Basically, making their ‘fantasy team’ dreams come true. And they have responded.
“We are thrilled that Kenya has accepted an invitation to be the opponents – we’ve seen how brilliant and exciting they have been on the sevens circuit and we’re looking forward to having our champion team tested by them over 80 minutes.”
Fans still have time to vote for the Carling Curie Cup players they want to see featured in the champion team.
Fans may also vote on www.carlingcurriecup.com
In the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, players from the four teams competing in the tournament are also available for selection.
“We’re delighted that our friends from Kenya have accepted the invitation,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby.
“The pandemic and our inclusion in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship presented a few challenges and it has been a champion effort all round to arrive at this day. It’s great to have a fellow African rugby nation marking the inauguration of an event that we hope to see grow as the calendar settles down and fans return in due course.”
Fans were advised that the next major announcement would see the unveiling of the champion team coaching and management line-up.
